Jason Southard, Coast Guard Academy Director of Athletic Media Relations, helped coordinate a group of coaches and their familieswho donated nearly 900 pair of shoes t
o children at a local charter school at the Division I Men's Basketball Final Four in New Orleans. The charity drive was on behalf of the international organization
Samaritan's Feet.
Numerous coaches and athletes from college, professional and high school are involved in the Samaritan's Feet community. This is a group of more than 70,000 volunteers and global ambassadors who have joined together since 2003 in an effort help the nearly 300 million people who go without shoes each day, and the more than a million who die (
Dying without Shoes) each year as a result.
Southard has been active in the
Young CoSIDA (YC) social and networking group and served as its president in 2010-11. YC has been actively involved in CoSIDA's community service and donation drives at the last three Conventions, holding an annual raffles and collecting donations at each workshop. See information
HERE on the 2011 Marco Island CoSIDA 5K run/walk and assistance for the St. Matthew's House (Naples, FL).
courtesy of
United States Coast Guard Academy Athletics
Jason Southard, director of athletic media relations at the Coast Guard Academy, took part in a community outreach event with the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) in conjunction with the Division I Men’s Basketball Final Four in New Orleans last week.
Southard, volunteering as part of the NABC’s (National Association of Basketball Coaches) Public Relations staff for the week, coordinated a group of about 30 coaches and families that teamed with
Samaritan’s Feet to donate 867 pairs of shoes to impoverished children at Dr. King Charter School in New Orleans during Final Four week.
Carolina Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith, LSU and Tulane basketball were also in attendance as well as the coaches and hundreds of volunteers from around the region.
Volunteers washed the feet of each shoe recipient, a symbol of care and respect, and then gave them each new socks and shoes provided by Samaritan’s Feet. Throughout this Final Four Week, Samaritan’s Feet and the NCAA distributed a total of 2,012 pairs of shoes.
“I have been involved with the NABC and Samaritan’s Feet for four years now and it’s one of the most fulfilling things that I have ever done,” said Southard. “To see the smiles not only on the young children’s faces but also the coaches that are volunteering is something very special.”
Samaritan’s Feet is humanitarian aid organization that shares a message of hope and love by distributing new shoes and washing the feet of under-served individuals around the world.
Samaritan’s Feet International was founded in 2003 by Nigerian born Manny Ohonme and his wife Tracie for the purpose of sharing hope with the under-served and hurting people of the world by washing their feet, giving them a new pair of shoes, and empowering them to believe that their dreams can come true.
Manny received his first pair of shoes at the age of nine from a missionary. Those shoes allowed him to learn and play basketball, which ultimately earned him a scholarship to the University of North Dakota (Lake Region). Manny went on to receive his bachelor’s and master’s degrees and pursued a successful career in supply chain software industries. A simple pair of shoes and the kindness and compassion shared by this missionary changed the course of Manny’s life.
“Each year Manny himself is right there washing children’s feet and greeting them with a smile, the man is an inspiration to everyone he comes in contact with,” said Southard. “The Samaritan’s Feet event is an experience that the coaches who volunteer their time will never forget.”
The people of Samaritan’s Feet believe that shoes are so much more than status symbols and fashion accessories. A new pair of shoes can be a symbol of hope and the source of life to a person in need. Samaritan’s Feet shoe distributions are designed to both meet physical needs and inspire young people to believe in the value of life and service. These distributions are the outpouring of the Samaritan’s Feet dedication to changing hearts and lives forever.
Their goal is to provide 10 million pairs of shoes in the next 10 years, and since 2003, Samaritan’s Feet and their team of ambassadors have served an estimated 3.5 million individuals in over 60 countries.